Greg Ball has never been so disgusted as an American

State Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson, weighed in on “the ongoing national travesty playing itself out on the National Mall in Washington D.C.” in a statement. Here it is, with footnotes:

Three weeks ago I had the honor of bringing dozens of World War II veterans to the WWII memorial. As they approached this national shrine their eyes told a story of patriotism marked by unbelievable sacrifice. Anyone who would ever stand in the way of allowing such heroes to see the monument built in their honor should be thoroughly ashamed. While the lack of bi-partisan leadership in Washington, D.C. is a national tragedy the buck stops squarely on the President’s desk. It is nothing short of an international embarrassment that President Obama proactively [1] shutout [2] WWII veterans from visiting the WWII Memorial. Even if this were simply an unimaginable oversight, the President should of [3] immediately led the way to tear down the wall [4] and allowed these brave men and women to see their national treasure. Instead, these brave souls were used as pawns in a ridiculous political stunt to a larger and much more costly sideshow. Today, as if these facts were not enough to make all Americans disgusted, our President has taken us all to a new low. We now learn this same President has now made a ‘special exception’ for illegal alien advocates and other polarizing groups protesting on the National Mall. [5] Frankly, I have never been so disgusted as an American, and this President turned our national mall into a national embarrassment. I have one message for this President, ‘Grow up, and tear down this wall.’ [6]

[1] “Proactively” means to deal with a problem in advance of its becoming a difficulty; the closure of national monuments was, in contrast, reactive — that is, it was done in reaction to the federal shutdown. If it had been done before midnight last Monday, it would have been proactive.

[2] Should be two words — “shutout” is a noun describing a game in which one team fails to score.

[3] Should have. Yeesh.

[4] It’s unclear what wall Ball is alluding to.

[5] Ball is referring to a Tuesday-afternoon rally by immigration reform groups who pressed a First Amendment case for use of a non-monument portion of the Mall. And as the Washington Post notes, the activists are none too happy with many of Obama’s immigration policies. Also: Are “polarizing” groups entitled to fewer free-speech rights than non-polarizing groups — your “Star Trek” fan clubs and whatnot?